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The American Puzzle – Why has the United States never had a female president?

Posted: 7th March 2018

So, why have more than eighty-five countries already had female prime ministers or presidents but the United States has not? (i)

Why are we so slow? (ii) My theory is that design choices by the Founders made it less likely that a woman would ascend to the presidency. These include the choice of a singular or unitary executive that combines the head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief function all in one person. The impact of that choice can be amplified by executive activism and the power of the courts via judicial review to define the scope of the executive as more or less expansive (iii). With the failure of the first viable female candidate to ascend to the presidency just a year behind us, it’s useful to consider these design choices and how they construct our politics. (iv)

In Federalist No. 70, Alexander Hamilton argued vigorously for an energetic and singular executive (v). He described this ideal executive as decisive, with the ability to act with dispatch—traits essential to being nimble enough to protect the young country. These “agentic” attributes are not gender neutral. In fact, men are seen as more assertive and forceful and women are perceived as more nurturing and interpersonally sensitive, “communal” attributes (vi). As a result, women are less likely to be seen as congruent with an executive who possesses full plenary power to act unilaterally, as both head of state and government, and with the warrior function associated with the commander-in-chief role (vii). Such an expansive executive makes it difficult to break the stranglehold of our “monosexual” democracy, especially given the power of incumbency (viii). If one believes that gender diversity in political leadership is a desirable normative goal and fulfils the broader promise of the Nineteenth Amendment (that women should have the right to hold political office as a corollary to having the right to vote), then it’s important to understand how these structural features of our Constitution may inhibit that goal (ix).